Our goal is to provide a fun and immersive environment for everyone and their creative roleplay styles. This may be someone’s first role-play experience or they could be role play veterans; both ends of the spectrum should be treated with the utmost respect and courtesy. Our server is a Serious Roleplay server. Please be respectful of this. Below you will find a list of server rules and guidelines that will help us all achieve this.

It is your responsibility to keep yourself informed on the information below. Changes to this documentation will arise through the future development of the server. Any questions may be directed to a member of the staff team for clarification. Persons with disabilities please reach out to a member of the staff team if accommodations need to be made for your enjoyment in our community.

• South Bay Roleplay is an English speaking server. You must be able to understand and effectively communicate in English. However, you are allowed to incorporate other languages into your character’s role play.
• You must have and use a microphone while on the server. If you need help getting it working please seek out help from a Staff member on Discord or in-game before interacting with others in the city. We will happily help you with setting it up.
• Your character should have an original and realistic first and last name. The use of offensive, famous, or other low-quality names are not allowed.
• New characters should plan for long term growth within the server. For example, you should not join the server and immediately expect to be a crime lord that runs the city.
• Players are encouraged to have a healthy balance of legal and illegal activities. It is not realistic to engage in criminal activity all the time.
• Your characters are not able to have or obtain detailed knowledge of your other characters’ interactions. You may only have a general knowledge of another character’s existence or general storyline. Making all your characters related (my sister, brother, cousin, etc) will be seen as low-quality RP. Transferring assets (cars, money, property, items, etc.) between your characters is also not allowed.
• Low-Effort RP or Low-Quality RP: All players are expected to put effort into their roleplay scenarios. Players should not constantly be involved in low effort situations, such as getting into a police chase for a minor crime, constantly robbing other players, unnecessarily killing another player (i.e. killing a compliant player that you kidnapped), etc.
• ​Should disagreements or instances of rule-breaking arise, the first thing you should do is try to roleplay through it, without breaking character. If that doesn’t work, open a Report a Player ticket in our #support Discord channel. Out of character (OOC) arguments will not be tolerated.
• The use of glitches, exploits, or hacks will result in an automatic ban from the server. If you find a glitch or in-game exploit please notify the team through the Report a Bug ticket on the #support Discord channel.
• Reporting a player must be done through the Report a Player ticket on the #support Discord channel. Likewise, bug reports should be submitted through the Report a Bug ticket on the same channel.
• Back Seat Staffing (or mini-modding): The act of policing/enforcing server rules on your own while not holding a Staff position on the server will not be tolerated. Use the correct tickets in the #support channel in discord.
• Voice changers are acceptable but they must be understandable and not overly loud or too quiet while also being used in the correct RP scenarios.
• Do not grief others. Griefing is defined as a player who deliberately irritates and harasses other players within the game (trolling), using aspects of the game in unintended ways. A griefer derives pleasure primarily or exclusively from the act of annoying other users, and as such is a particular nuisance in online gaming communities. To qualify as griefing, a player must be using aspects of the game in unintended ways to annoy other players.
• /calladmin can only be used for specific reasons:
  • For requesting assistance with a game breaking glitch/bug
  • To talk to an admin for RP questions or rule clarifications (outside of active RP)
  • Cannot be used for player reports unless there’s a suspected hacker/exploiter (report players on Discord)
• /b (local OOC chat only) is used to facilitate RP, for example, to request a pause in a situation, or to explain a game mechanic to a new player. /b should be used as a last resort and not used to chat OOC or to argue with players.

• Players must create a realistic human character using the customization system.
• Admins may request a player to change their character’s customization if they deem it unfit for the server environment.
• Players must only obstruct their faces when they have an in-character reason to do so such as a robbery or when it makes sense to have their face obstructed where they are.
• Do not dress your character to resemble an alien or animal unless authorized by staff for a rare RP scenario/event.
• Do not make parts of your body invisible or intentionally glitched.
• Your clothing should be a valid clothing slot and not have any checkered textures.
• Completely nude models are prohibited.

• Discord is considered OOC (Out Of Character). Topics discussed there should never be used in-game.
• Our discord has in-character channels, these should be treated as such and conversation shall remain in character at all times in these specified channels.
• Do not use text chat in-game for OOC issues. Use Discord for this.
• Only use the ticket tools found in the #support Discord channel for discussing possible issues.
• If rules are violated, press the Tilde (~) key in-game to determine a player’s server number. This will help our team determine the identity of the individual.

• Derogatory remarks directed to others regarding race, national origin, gender, religion, disabilities or sexual preference will not be tolerated. Do not base a character’s RP around being heavily discriminatory either. Any form of repeated harassment or disrespect in this manner will result in immediate consequences.

• You are expected to engage in the roleplay that is taking place around you in the city. This is not to say that upset characters cannot ignore someone, or that angry characters cannot say “No!” to ideas and invitations, however players that simply ignore everything and everyone around them will be seen as engaging in FailRP/Low-Quality RP.

• Be creative and move around the city from time to time as realistic as possible. 
• Hostages cannot be in-character friends or associates and they cannot be imaginary or NPCs.
• There are no green zones or safe zones in the city where RP can not be initiated.
  • If the need to be AFK or take a break arises you may log off until you become available again to resume RP.
  • Farming players as they create their character (or waiting for them to leave the building at postal 382 on Alta Street) will be considered Power/Metagaming.
• RDM (Random Death Match) & VDM (Vehicle Deathmatch) are prohibited. Characters must have a logical reason for killing someone or attempting to kill someone.
  • Attacking another player/group without any story/roleplay leading up to it (including at drug locations, black market, stash houses, etc) is RDM.
  • Attacking another player/group using a vehicle with the intent to kill/knock them out without valid reasoning or initiation is VDM.

• KOS (Kill On Sight) will be allowed during a time of war between gangs. There has to be meaningful RP leading up to a gang war, do not take this time or term lightly.
• Gang leaders must know that there is a war going on between gangs.
• Gang colors or markings must be worn during a time of war.
• Non-gang members that are affiliated or running with the gang will be subject to war time rules.
• Non-gang members wearing known colors or markings of gangs will be subject to wartime rules. (This will be public knowledge)

• Although in most video games there is no consequence to dying since your character simply re-spawns, it is essential to remember the importance of valuing your life in a roleplay server to maintain a fair and enjoyable environment for all involved.
• What does “valuing your life” mean, exactly? At all times during roleplay, you must value your life and the lives of others. Your character is mortal and only has one life, just like you do in real life. If faced with an imminent threat of death or great bodily injury, players should behave in a way that an ordinary person would with a sense of self preservation. If someone has a gun pointed at you from close range, you should comply. If you know someone is armed, you should not antagonize them for no reason. Do not insert yourself into situations such as active shootings or bank robberies in progress if you happen across them.
• Jumping from high places likely to result in great injury or death falls under this rule as well. If a reasonably prudent person who values their life and well-being would not do it, you should not do it either.
• Failure to value your life significantly deteriorates the quality of roleplay on the server. Therefore, it will not be taken lightly and may result in administrative action taken against you.

• A NLR or “new life rule” means that if killed you won’t recall who or what killed you or the events leading up to your character being downed, if you force-respawn. You may not return to the place of your death for at least 15 minutes and you may not seek revenge unless it is shared with you who killed the character through RP. If your character is downed, being treated by Fire Rescue, Medically Trained Officers, or someone with a medical kit it will cancel out the NLR. Force-respawning or Auto Morguing is considered a case of NLR.

• Be realistic and role-play your injuries. Use voice and actions (/me or /do) to RP with EMS. Do not force respawn in an active situation.

• Do not break character or use OOC terms while IC, unless you are approached by an admin or require assistance from an admin. Please use Discord or OOC chat to ask for an admin.
• Do not use terms in-game like “going to the government”, threatening to get someone “deported”, citing rule violations, or telling someone their RP is “Fail RP”. Please use the #support Discord channel and open the appropriate ticket.

• Do not use any OOC information originating outside of the game. This includes taking in-game info and passing it to others outside of the game in OOC to gain an advantage over a situation.
• The use of third party communications that players in-game cannot hear is allowed, unless the information shared inhibits RP or is used as an advantage over other players in-game.
• Stream Sniping – Using information gained from players’ streams and or forcing interaction to show up on a player’s stream is not allowed.
• If another player is committing a crime and is masked or covering their face and attempting to hide their identity, you should assume you do not know the character’s identity regardless of your standing with that individual or their status within the community. 

• Using mechanics or role-playing mechanics that do not exist in game.
• Criminals may not have more than 6 people directly in an active crime situation.
• Dumping player owned vehicles intentionally into the ocean will be considered Power Gaming until an in-game system is implemented to recover vehicles. Intentionally blowing up player owned vehicles without a valid reason during an active RP situation is also considered power gaming (e.g. when player is offline).
• Players can not force another player to withdraw more than $1000 from their bank account.
• Locking players in a trunk and dumping the vehicle into the ocean will be considered Power Gaming.
• Non-consensual infliction of permanent disfigurement, dismemberment, maiming, etc. is prohibited. This includes cutting off fingers, torture, etc. See rules governing “Extreme Roleplay”.

• This is the act of intentionally drawing attention to yourself from Law Enforcement because, but not only, you’re bored and/or feel like having a chase, shootout, or other “dramatic” interaction with Law Enforcement. Do not intentionally bait police into chasing for a high-speed chase, or an ambush situation without reason. 

• The NPCs around the map must be treated with the same level of respect that you’d give to any Player Character that you encounter. It’s common and okay, to refer to them as “locals” but it’s not acceptable to treat them as disposable. Without these NPCs the world you roleplay in would feel incredibly small.

• Do not impersonate Law Enforcement Officers or Medical Staff. It is strictly prohibited. Any clothing linked to these roles should not be worn unless approval has been given by our staff team.

• Because we are a streamer friendly server, roleplay and/or behavior that violates the Twitch Terms of Service (ToS), Twitch Community Guidelines, and chat that violates Discord Terms of Service is strictly prohibited.

• We do not tolerate any form of racism, sexism, sexual harassment, or rape roleplay.
• Erotic roleplay (“ERP”) is not allowed.
• Any form of romantic, intimate, or sexual relationship roleplay (dating, marriage, etc.) involving persons under 18 years of age is prohibited, even if all participants are minors themselves.
• Suicide RP is strictly prohibited.
• Torture RP requires consent from all participants and must comply with the rules governing Power Gaming.
• These rules are STRICTLY ENFORCED.

• Do not log out to avoid jail or a role-play situation. If it is an emergency or the game crashes, try to log back in as soon as possible and finish the RP scenario. If any other exigent circumstance occurs, please contact the people involved as soon as possible.
• Force morguing during an active RP situation while AMR or LAFD is online is also considered combat logging.

• Permadeath is when your character dies in active RP.
  • It is strongly discouraged to simply delete your character without engaging in a RP scenario. This goes along the same lines as the “Never Ignore Roleplay” rule. By choosing to not RP out your character’s death, the Fire Department and others involved miss out on RP on their end.
• The manner of permadeath is up to you, however, characters that are involved in excessive amounts of serious crimes may end up being given the death sentence by the judicial system (i.e. mass murderer caught by the police).
• Fire Department personnel (not AMR) must be on duty to call time of death. You cannot consider yourself perma’d until this condition is met.
• After perma’ing, you must delete your character from the character selection screen.
• Permadeaths must be sent to staff 24 hours before the RP unfolds (for now just open a bug ticket). This is not a request for approval, but merely a courtesy.
  • This doesn’t mean you have to “setup” or “preplan” a RP scenario if you don’t want to. But if your plan is to perma your character the next time the opportunity arises, please let staff know.
• After the character has been deleted, all items and money will be collected by the state. Properties will be transferred back onto the markets. Vehicles will be auctioned, held by either PD, the State, or private dealerships. Dumping and/or transfering items to other players or characters before perma’ing your character is not allowed.
• Players cannot force others to permanently kill their character.
  • For example: If you shoot someone in the head and toss them off the side of a boat, and they force morgue (respawn), NLR applies to them and they forget what happened. As far as you’re concerned, treat it like a movie. If the character didn’t die on screen, don’t assume they’re dead.

• Players should operate vehicles realistically at all times. Things to avoid include extreme speeds, driving inside or on buildings, unrealistic stunting, and/or driving off of high places cliffs, bridges, “conveniently placed ramps” etc.
• Emergency vehicles are not allowed to be stolen by citizens unless high-quality role play is initiated to have such a scenario unfold.
• For jobs that offer work vehicles, players must utilize them while they are actively working that job. Players are allowed to buy their own job vehicles and upgrade them as they like, but it must be the same vehicle provided by the job.
• Flying of an aircraft is temporarily prohibited.
• All weaponized vehicles are prohibited. If a vanilla vehicle has been overlooked and can be weaponized, you are to report to staff immediately. This includes military vehicles that may spawn naturally in the world.

• All bans including but not limited to the break of these rules can be appealed. Please access the #support channel in our Discord to place a Ban Appeal ticket to be heard by staff. Do not insist or message staff for your ban appeal meeting. You will be contacted with an agreed-upon time for your Ban Appeal hearing by you and server staff.
  

• ​​Advertising and/or soliciting of other servers or services in FiveM will not be tolerated and will result in immediate removal from the community. This also includes attempting to recruit members or staff or the development team to other servers.